A number of businesses offer money transfer and other services through a network of agents. A customer (i.e. a sender) that desires to use these services to transfer money to a third party (i.e. a receiver) can take the money to an agent of the money transfer service. The agent accepts the money, obtains necessary information such as the customer's identity and the identity of the receiver, and initiates a transfer. The money is then made available to the receiver by another agent. The receiver can then pick up the money. In these and other conventional transfers, the sender sets all terms of the transfer when interacting with the agent. The receiver is often notified of the transfer only after the sender has staged the transfer. Therefore, it is up to the sender and receiver to agree upon convenient terms for the transfer before it is staged, and it may further be the responsibility of the sender to convey accurate instructions to the receiver on how to pick-up or otherwise receive the transferred money.
Conventional money transfers, as described above, are typically discrete transfers involving only an ephemeral relationship (from the perspective of the transfer service) between the sender and the receiver. While the personal relationship between the sender and the receiver may be long lasting, the sender's and receiver's interaction with the money transfer provider lasts only as long as needed to carry out the transfer. This can lead to several issues. The sender and receiver have to negotiate the transfer apart from the agent that facilitates the money transfer. This may only require the sender communicating a unique reference number to the receiver that allows the receiver to pick-up the wired money at an agent location, but even miscommunication of the reference number or the incorrect spelling of a name can prevent completion of the money transfer. The sender may be unsure of whether the receiver is in a position to receive the transfer according to the terms set by the sender. Likewise, the receiver may be unsure of whether the sender is mindful of initiating the transfer properly. The receiver may have to inquire with the sender, remind the sender, and/or teach the sender how to initiate the transfer, which can be socially uncomfortable for both the receiver and the sender. Finally, the sender must specify all terms of the transfer with an agent, even though the sender may be unaware of the receiver's preferences for the manner of transfer of the money (e.g., type of currency, will call pick-up or direct deposit). In many transfers, the sender merely wants the receiver to be satisfied at the end of the process, which can be paradoxical considering the sender typically sets all terms of the transfer.